Purpose

Dear Self,

Yesterday, a colleague and I were having a conversation about one's purpose in the world. You see, we have another colleague who is seemingly lost - and because of it, he cannot see the wonderful things around him. He is highly-educated, with two sub-specialty trainings in our field; he is smart; he is good-natured and respected by everyone; he earns more than enough to live by day-to-day expenses. However, he seems empty. He feels that at his age, he should have accomplished more.

Then, I was asked, what was MY purpose?

After giving it a little thought, I knew what my answer was - it was to continue to make my father proud. My dad is a classic rags-to-riches tale. And now, at the twilight of his career, he, unfortunately, had to go through an awful experience - he and my mom separated after 41 years of marriage. The circumstances of the separation were difficult, tumultuous, and unfair to him (the details of which I may or may not share in the coming days). Interestingly, I find that his only reprieve from the whole fiasco is actually ME - my success with my career. And so that has become my purpose - to continue to make him proud through my achievements.

It is a short-term goal, I know. My dad won't be around forever, and it's hard to imagine what I would do after he has left this world. Will I find a new purpose in life? A new reason to live? I would eventually need to find the answers to these questions, but, for now, doing what little I can to help my dad through this heartache takes top priority.


Sincerely,

Lagundi